Hydraulic machine



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HYDRAULIC MACHINE n Filed Jan. 4, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 f" S I g N b.. N l` Nw d' N 0W v i `1' m y GEORGE Arl=.ssca|= AND ToRLElF NoRoM .Cil

Patented May 11, 1937 UNireo stares man@ QEFEQE HYDRAULIC MACHINE Application January 4, 1937, Serial No. 118,950

2 Claims.

This invention relates to hydraulic machines, such as hydraulic turbines, pumps, and the like,

-and more particularly to the type of hydraulic.

machines having runners with movable or adjustable blades.

. For installation at the Bonneville Power and Navigation Project, Columbia River, between the States of Oregon and Washington, are adjustable blade hydraulic turbines having runners with a diameter of 280 inches. These runners are the largest ever built up to the present time, and in order to permit desired operation of the units, certain features have been included in the construction of the runners.

As is well-known in the art, the hub of an adjustable blade runner is lled with oil for lubricating the blade operating mechanism within the hub, During operation water leaks through the joints between the blades and the hub proper and such water collects in the bottom of the hub. Obviously some means should be provided for removing water from the hub, since an eX- cess of water therein, mixing with the lubricating oil, will destroy the lubricating properties of the oil. Therefore, the present invention relates more particularly to means for removing water from the bottom of the runner hub without the necessity of dismantling the runner or unwatering the draft tube.

An object of the invention is to provide improved means by which water can be withdrawn from the bottom of the hub of an adjustable blade hydraulic turbine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved adjustable blade hydraulic turbine in which the operating rod of the blade operating mechanism is so formed as to constitute a tube adapted to be brought into registration with an extensible member mounted in the main shaft of the turbine so that water can be removed from the hub of the turbine.

With the foregoing and other objects and advantages in View, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:-

Figure 1 is a view partly in section of an adjustable blade hydraulic turbine embodying the present invention;

Fig. y2 is an enlarged vertical section of the runner hub showing the blade operating mechanism in mid-position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the servo motor for operating the runner blade operating mechanism;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of the eX- tensible member shown in Fig. 3, the member being disconnected from the operating rod; and

Fig, 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the extensible member operatively connected with the operating rod.

Referring to the drawings and especially to Fig. l, the turbine comprises a runner il xed to the lower end of a shaft iii, the lower end of said shaft being supported by a bearing `I3 mounted in the casing of the turbine.

A suitable number of blades I5 are rotatably supported in the hub lli of the runner il and project radially therefrom.

The inner end of each blade l5 is formed with a trunnion I6 which is journalled in bearings il and i8 mounted in the hub of the runner ii.

Means are provided for simultaneously rotating all of the blades i5 and for maintaining them in equal angular relationship, such means comprising preferably a lever I9 rigidly xed on the trune nion I6 of each blade and links 2t which connect the levers on the different blades to a cross head 2l fixed to the lower end of an operating rod 22 which extends upwardly through the hollow runner shaft i2.

The lower portion of the cross head 2l is formed with a downwardly projecting tubular eX- tension 23.

Mounted in the bottom portion of the hub Hl is a member 2li having a central cylindrical portion 25 or the reception of the tubular extension 23 of the cross head 2i.

The main body of the member 26'! is also cylindrical in form and this main body portion of said member surrounds the central cylindrical portion 25 so as to provide a space through which uid in the runner hub can easily flow. The vertical walls of the main portion of the member 2li and the central portion 25 are connected at suitable intervals by webs 26, as shown in Fig. 2.

The bottom 2l of the member 2Q is semi-spherical in cross section so as to provide a sump 3D in which any water which may seep into the link of the runner can collect. An opening 28 is formed in the lowermost part or the bottom 2l and a valve diagrammatically indicated at 29 (Fig. 2) is employed to normally close opening 28.

The lower end of the operating rod 22 extends downwardly below the cross head 2l and terminates within the sump 3U.

A vertical bore 3l is formed in the operating rod 22. This bore terminates a suitable .dis-

tance from the upper end of the operating rod, as shown in Fig. 3.

A horizontal bore 32 formed in the operating rod 22, intersects the vertical bore 3l and constitutes a port, the purpose of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

As shown in Fig. 3, the upper end of the operating rod 22 is fixed to the piston 33 of a servo motor 34 which is mounted between the upper end of the runner shaft I2 and the lower end of the shaft 35 of an electric generator or other mechanism (not shown) adapted to be driven by the turbine.

In mechanisms falling within the scope of the present invention, the controlling uid is generally oil, means being provided for controlling the oil in such a manner as to operate piston` 33 so that the blades are rotated in the desired manner through the connection between said piston and the blade operating mechanism within the hub I4 of the runner aorded by rod 22.

One type of mechanism which has gone into extensive use is disclosed in McCormack Patent No. 1,937,772., granted December 5, 1933, for Hydraulic turbine.

The servo motor piston 33 is contained in a suitable cylinder, the upper portion of which is closed by the lower portion of the generator shaft 35.

The upper portion of the operating rod 22 passes through a bushing 35, and this bushing besides forming a bearing for the operating rod 22, provides means for closing the chamber 31 on the lower side of the piston 33.

The oil used for controlling the operation of piston 33 is somewhat lighter in viscosity than the lubricating oil within the runner hub and the bushing 36 tends to keep the light operating oil from mixing with the heavy lubricating oil.

'Ihe servo motor piston 33 is double acting, and in order to supply oil to both sides thereof for the purpose of operating the same in both directions, two tubes or pipes 38 and 39 are employed. These pipes are mounted within the hollow generator shaft 35 and rotate therewith, said pipes extending from the servo motor 34 upwardly through the generator to a head which is operatively connected with a control device associated with the governor of the turbine in the manner fully described in the above-referred-to McCormack patent.

The lower end of pipe 39 is in communication with chamber 31 on the lower side of the servo motor piston 33, and the lower end of pipe 38 is in communication with chamber 40 on the upper side of piston 33, as shown in Fig. 3.

During operation of a hydraulic turbine of the type herein described, water seeps into the hub I4 through the joints where the runner blade trunnions enter the hub. This water collects in the sump 30, and it is desirable that the water be removed from time to time.

According to the present invention we have provided means which are mounted in the runner shaft I2 and adapted to be operatively associated with the port 32 in the rod 22 so that communication will be established with the sump 30 whereby the water in the bottom of the runner hub can be withdrawn from the sump.

Through the operation of servo motor piston 33, the operating rod 22 is reciprocated, and consequently it is necessary to shut down the turbine in order to remove water from the runner hub.

The lower end of the operating rod 22 is formed with a downwardly extending portion 42 which aovav'e projects into the member 24. During the reciprocating movements of rod 22, the lower portion 42 thereof moves upwardly and downwardly in sump 30. The vertical movement of rod 22 is obviously limited, since the runner blades are normally moved or turned through a limited angle during operation of the turbine, and in its downward movement the lower end of the rod 22 approaches the bottom of sump 35 only when the runner blades I are turned to wide-open position. The position of the parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is the intermediate position of the runner blades.

At a suitable point, a horizontal opening 43 is formed in runner shaft I2.

Mounted in opening 43 is an extensible member in the form of a plunger 44 having a central longitudinal bore 45 formed therein, the b-ore 45 being adapted to aline with bore 32 heretofore referred to when the operating rod 22 is in its lowermost position, in which position the lower end 42 of said rod is disposed adjacent the bottom of the sump 33, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 2.

Lubricating oil is present in the space 46 in the central bore of shaft I2 in which the rod 22 is disposed, and, therefore, when the plunger 44 is operatively connected with bore 32 a tight seal should be provided so that only the uid in the sump will ow through the plunger. Accordingly, the outer end of bore 32 is formed with a tapered seat 4?, against which is adapted to seat the correspondingly formed inner end v 43 of the plunger 44 (see Fig. 5).

During operation of the turbine, the plunger 44 is retracted from the rod 22 so as to permit free movements of said rod.

For the purpose of moving the plunger 44 inwardly when it is desired to connect same with the bore 32 of the rod 22, said plunger is mounted in a nut 43 having external screw threads 53 engaging threads 5I formed in an enlarged portion 52 of the bore 43.

The outer end of the plunger 44 is provided with a ball head 53 having a central opening 54 formed longitudinally therein, in alinement with the bore 45 of plunger 44.

The nut 4S is formed with a seat 55 for the ball head 53, the construction being such that the plunger 44 is free to swing about the joint provided by head 53 and seat 55 so that the inner end of said plunger will tightly seat against seat 41 when the plunger is moved inwardly into engagement with the rod 22.

Communication through the plunger is normally closed by a valve 53 carried by a guide 51 mounted in the plunger, said guide having one or more openings 58 formed therein for the purpose of permitting huid to flow through the plunger when the valve 55 is unseated.

The valve 55 is normally held against a seat 59 formed in the head 53, by an expansible coil spring 33.

The outer end of nut 4S is formed with notches 6I for the reception of a suitable Spanner wrench (not shown), by which the nut is adapted to be screwed inwardly and outwardly in order to move the plunger 44 towards and away from the rod 22.

A retainer 32 is mounted in an enlarged portion 63 of opening 43, said retainer having an inner threaded portion 34 engaging the threads 5I) of nut 49, and an outer internally threaded 'gagement with rod 22, a plug 66 is mounted in the threaded portion 65 of the retainer 62, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to close the outer end of the plunger and protect the valve 56.

When it is desired to drain water from the sump 30, the turbine is shut down, and the blade operating mechanism is then moved to the position in which plunger 44 alines with bore 32.

Plug 66 is then removed so as to expose the outer end of the plunger 44. The nut 49 is then screwed inwardly, so as to move the plunger 44 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5.

A nipple 61 having its inner end formed with threads which will t the threads 65 of the retainer 62 is next fastened to the retainer, as shown in Fig. 5. Nipple 61 is formed with a suitable inwardly projecting wire loop 68 which is adapted to extend through the opening 54 in the ball head 53 and unseat the valve 56.

After the nipple 61 has been attached to the retainer 62, a hose (not shown) may be attached to the outer threaded portion of the nipple, to carry off the water drained from the sump 30.

In some installations the lubricating oil within the runner hub I4 may be maintained at a predetermined pressure, as described, for instance, in our prior application for Letters Patent for Hydraulic turbine, Serial No. 37,349, led in the United States Patent Oiiice August 22, 1935, now Patent No. 2,070,601, dated February 16, 1937. In such case, when the valve 56 is unseated, the pressure of the oil within the runner hub will force the fluid in the sump 30 upwardly through the bore 3| and outwardly through the plunger 44 and the hose connected to nipple 61.

However, in installations in which the lubricating oil within the runner hub is not maintained under pressure, it may then be necessary to connect a pump to the hose which is fastened to nipple 61 in order to drain the iiuid from the sump 30.

Obviously, the bore 3l in the operating rod 22 is lled with lubricating oil from the runner hub. Therefore, when the valve 56 is unseated, oil will rst flow outwardly through plunger 44 ahead of the w-ater which is being drained from the sump 30.

It has been described that the present invention covers the design of hydraulic turbines installed at the Bonneville Power and Navigation Project. The length of the bore 3| of these turbines is approximately feet and the diameter of said bore is approximately 1% inches, so that the cubic contents of this space within the operating rod is approximately ,2.5 gallons. This quantity of oil must be drained away before it can be determined whether or not there isl water in the sump 30. This quantity of oil, however, is a small matter compared with the quantity of oil contained in the runner hub and the bore 46 of the runner shaft l2, and the loss of this small amount of oil is not serious.

After the water has been removed from the sump 30, the nipple 61 can be detached from the retainer 62, and the valve 56 will automatically close the communication through the plunger 44. The nut 49 can then be screwed outwardly thereby withdrawing the plunger away from the operating rod 22, after which the plug 66 can be replaced in the retainer 62.

From the foregoing it will be noted that by the present invention it is only necessary to shut down the turbine and connect the plunger 44 with the operating rod 22, in the above-described manner, in order to dewater the runner hub. Heretofore, in order to remove the water from the hub it was necessary to unwater the draft tube and enter the draft tube below the ruimer in order to open valve 29. By this invention the time required to drain water from the hub is considerably expedited, since this work can be conveniently performed more frequently than by the prior methods and by merely shutting down the turbine for a short period of time.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:-

1. In a hydraulic machine, a runner having a hollow hub with a sump in the bottom thereof, a plurality of blades rotatably mounted in said hub, mechanism within the hub for rotating the blades, a hollow shaft connected to the hub, an operating rod reciprocatably mounted in said shaft and connected to said blade operating mechanism for operating the same, said operating rod extending downwardly into said sump, an opening formed longitudinally in said operating rod and terminating at a distance from the top thereof, a hollow extensible member mounted in said runner shaft at a point near the upper end of said operating rod opening, a valve mounted in said extensible member and normally closing communication therethrough, a lateral bore formed in the operating rod and leading from the longitudinal opening in said rod, a nut threadedly mounted in said runner shaft and operatively connected with said extensible member for moving said member inwardly and outwardly with respect to said operating shaft, and a retainer threadedly mounted on said nut and having an internally threaded central opening formed therein for the reception of a nipple having an inwardly projecting element adaptedy to engage said valve to unseat the same when the extensible member is connected to said operating rod.

2. In a hydraulic machine, a runner having a hollow hub with a sump in the bottom thereof, a plurality of blades rotatably mounted in said hub, mechanism within the hub for rotating the blades, a hollow shaft connected to the hub, an operating rod disposed within said hollow shaft and connected to said blade operating mechanism, means for reciprocating said operating rod to effect operation of said mechanism, said operating rod extending downwardly into said sump, a bore formed longitudinally in said operating rod, a

Vlateral bore leading from said longitudinal bore outwardly tothe exterior of said rod, and means carried by said runner shaft and adapted to be connected to said lateral bore when the bottom of the operating rod is positioned adjacent the bottom of the sump, for conducting fluid from said sump outwardly through said runner shaft, said means being normally disengaged from said operating rod when the machine is in operation.

GEORGE A. JESSOP. TORLEIF NORBOM. 

